'God's Hand' needed to save this one

Frailty - R
Starring: Bill Paxton, Mathew McConaughey
Directed by: Bill Paxton
Showing: Showplace East 11 Bill Paxton's directorial debut, "Frailty," has met with widely varying reviews. On one spectrum, there are those who have made comparisons with Kubrick's disturbing masterpiece "The Shining." Then there are others who have called the film "hokey" and nearly offensive in its dark nature. I am left somewhere in between. "Frailty" is a Texas-size slice of bleak Americana, served Southern-goth style, which seemingly writhes with potential, but that is ultimately reduced to a slight shiver. Like Paxton, Brent Hanley makes his screenwriting debut with a story of religious fanaticism that turns as black as sin. When Fenton Meiks (Matthew McConaughey) shows up at the FBI headquarters in Dallas, Texas, one (surprise!) dark and stormy night, he confesses to the head agent, Wesley Doyle (Powers Boothe), that he knows who the "God's Hand" killer is. From here, Fenton tells a story in flashback of how his father had a vision one night in which an angel instructed him that Judgement Day was quickly approaching. Dad (that's all he's ever referred to as) and his boys have just been promoted to chief demon slayers for the Kingdom of God. Wielding an axe named Otis and the almighty wrath of God, father and sons set out to faithfully obey the will of the Prince of Peace. But problems begin to arise when Fenton fails to see the righteous nature of his father's newfound calling, and only sees his father hacking up folks that he deems "demonic." In light of recent events, specifically the Andrea Yates case, a mother who drowned her own children to save them from Satan, Paxton's "Frailty" deals with many serious issues. Religious fanaticism, child abuse and the various forms of faith are all covered here. And Paxton manages to give us a complex, if almost too understated, performance as an all-loving father who just happens to "destroy" demons on the side (which is apparently quite different from "killing" a human being). Likewise, Paxton has a nice feel behind the camera, not letting this turn into a gruesome gore-fest, but instead focusing his camera on the sons and the way their lives are forever altered after watching Daddy hack away. But as disturbing and thought-provoking as the premise and even the start of the film seem, by the end, it's just another movie with a flash-bang twist ending that completely defeats the purpose of everything that came before it. At times, the young boys, specifically the youngest (Jeremy Sumpter), fall rather short of portraying their actual emotions. And by the end of the film, if what the story has revealed is true, we're left wondering where the title plays in. The only thing frail here is the delivery on a promise of some truly terrifying potential.